Stained glass assembly

ABSTRACT

AN ASSEMBLY OF STAINED GLASS PIECES HAVING THE TRADITIONAL HAND-CRAFTED APPEARANCE OF INDIVIDUAL LEADING ABOUT EACH PIECE, SUCH APPEARANCE BEING SIMULATED BY A BASE DELINEATED INTO SHAPED AREAS BY FLAT STRIPS, THOSE STRIPS OF THE COVER EVEN CONTAINING MOCK SOLDERING DEPOSITS. THIS RESULTS IN A REALISTIC HAND-CRAFTED APPEARANCE WHICH NORMALLY IS OBTAINABLE ONLY AFTER TEDIOUS EFFORT BUT WHICH IS ACTUALLY OBTAINED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRESENT INVENTION IN A FACILITATED, SIMPLE PROCEDURE.

United States Patent Oifice 3,563,835 STAINED GLA S ASSEMBLY JohnNussbaum, 6505 79th St., Middle Village, N.Y.

11379, and Berney Harris III, 348 E. 78th St., New

York, NY. 10021 Filed Aug. 20, 1969, Ser. No. 851,619 Int. Cl. B44f 1/08US. Cl. 16118 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An assembly of stainedglass pieces having the traditional hand-crafted appearance ofindividual leading about each piece, such appearance being simulated bya base delineated into shaped areas by flat strips, those strips of thecover even containing mock soldering deposits. This results in arealistic hand-crafted appearance which normally is obtainable onlyafter tedious effort but which is actually obtained in accordance withthe present invention in a facilitated, simple procedure.

The present invention relates to the handling and assembling of stainedglass, and more particularly to improvements in achieving a stainedglass assembly while retaining a commercially desirable, traditionalhand-crafted appearance in the completed assembly.

The esthetic appeal of stained glass has resulted in the extensive useof this material for religious window construction, art objects,and'similar uses. As generally understood, the different shapes ofstained glass are first wrapped in lead stripping which is soft enoughto conform in shape to the contour of the glass and then the wrappedpieces are soldered together into a final assembly. Not only does thefinal assembly display the beauty of the stained glass but the use ofleading over the many years has additionally provided a characteristicand distinctive hand-crafted appearance to the resulting product. Priorto the present invention, it has not been possible to modernize thehandling and preparation of the stained glass into useful, estheticobjects without significantly detracting from its characteristic anddistinctive appearance.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedstained glass assembly having a construction and procedure forassembling overcoming the foregoing and other shortcomings of the priorart. Specifically, it is an object to provide a stained glass assemblywhich, on general inspection, is similar to stained glass objects whichare prepared by the conventional, tedious method.

A stained glass assembly demonstrating objects and advantages of thepresent invention includes use of a base and cover which cooperate tobound an internal compartment in which the various pieces of stainedglass are positioned and effectively held in place. The cover inaddition to being attached to the base by being soldered alongconfronting portions of the rims of the cover and base also has mocksolder deposits at strategic locations on its outwardly facing surfacewhich effectively gives a simulated appearance of a hand-crafted stainedglass assembly.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features andadvantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated byreference to the following detailed description of a presentlypreferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment in accordance withthe present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a base member of the assembly hereof, in whichportions of the glass havev been omitted to better illustrate structuralfeatures of the base member;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cover member of the assembly hereof;

3,563,835 Patented Feb. 16, 1971 FIG. 3 is a partial plan view, on anenlarged scale, illustrating the manner in which stained glass shapesare positioned within the base member hereof;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, in section taken along line 44 ofFIG. 3, illustrating further structural features which facilitate theassembly of the stained glass shapes within the base member;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view, in section, taken along line 55 of FIG.2, illustrating structural features of the cover member;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the completed stained glass assembly; and

FIG. 7 is an elevational view, in section taken along line 7-7 of FIG.6, showing further structural features of the assembly.

Reference is now made to the drawing, and in particular to FIG. 6 whichillustrates a completed stained glass assembly, generally designated 10,in accordance with the present invention. The individual parts ofassembly 10 include different shapes of stained glass, as exemplified bythe two different sizes of arcuate shapes 12 and 14 and the centralglass panel 16 having a surface ornamentation thereon, in addition tothe traditional coloration which characterizes stained glass. Assembly10 also includes holding means for the stained glass shapes which, inaccordance with the present invention, accurately simulates conventionalleading which usually is placed about the border of the stained glasspieces. In the illustrated embodiment, this holding means consists of aperipheral rim 18, which of course, bounds the operative extent or areaof the assembly. Supported in an extending position internally of therim 18 are different sizes of glass-supporting strips, individually andcollectively designated 20, which delineate the whole of the operativearea bounded by the rim 18 into different shaped areas corresponding tothe shapes of the stained glass pieces 12, 14 and 16.

As generally understood, in a. conventional stained glass assembly, thedifferent irregularly shaped pieces of stained glass are individuallywrapped in a strip of lead, the lead being soft enough to behand-conformed in shape to the contour of the glass piece. After thesestained glass pieces are so Wrapped, they are joined into an assembly bythe soldering of confronting edges of the leading about the glasspieces. In accordance with the present invention, the tedious task ofsoldering the individually wrapped pieces of stained glass has beeneliminated but,. for appearances sake, simulated soldering at thejunctures of the various strips 20, as exemplary by juncture 22,nevertheless contains a solder deposit 24 which effectively provides thetraditional hand-crafted appearance to the assembly 10. Also avoided bythe assembly 10 is the tedious task of individually wrapping each of thestained glass pieces with leading, all as will now be described indetail.

Referring to FIG. 1, it will be understood that assembly 10 includes abase member 26 which, in turn, has an L-shaped rim 28 consisting, asbest shown in FIG. 4, of an intersecting vertical wall -30 and ahorizontal wall 32. The walls 30, 32 thus cooperate to define a corneror seat 34- accommodating the outer edge of the arcuate shaped outerstained glass pieces, such as the previously noted pieces 12, 14. Formelas an integral part of the base 26, in addition to the rim 28, andactually being supported therefrom in an extended position into theinterior of the rim 28, are base glass support strips individually andcollectively designated 36. Rim 28 and strips 36- respectivelycorrespond in pattern and arrangement with rim 18 and strips 20, but theformed in on the base member 26 while the latter is on another member ofthe assembly 10 which soon will be described. In any event, as justnoted the pattern and arrangement of the strips 3 36 and rim 28 is suchthat they provide the same delineated areas which correspond in size andextent to the shapes of the various stained glass pieces 12, 14, 16.

As best shown in FIG. 3 in conjunction with FIG. 1, the strips 36include an upstanding dividing wall or construction 38 which actuallyseparates the different delineated areas. In select portions of thestrips 36 the dividing walls 38 have recesses 40 on opposite sides sothat the entire dividing wall or construction 38 is actually not incontact with the confronting or facing edges of the glass pieces, suchas facing edges 42, 44 of glass pieces 12, 14 respectively.

Returning to consideration of FIG. 1, it will be noted that dividingwalls 38 are at various spaced locations along the glass-supportingstrips 36 and, consequently, are effective in confining the variousshaped pieces of stained glass in correspondingly shaped delineatedareas within the operative area of the assembly 10. To this end, as bestshown in FIG. 3, the dividing wall portions 38 are advantageouslylocated in the medial area of the glasssupporting strips 36 so that eachof the wall portions 38 cooperates with the glass-supporting strips todefine corners or seats, like previously noted seat 34, into which theglass edges are readily accommodated.

From the foregoing description of the base member 26, is should bereadily appreciated that this member efiiciently functions toaccommodate in the various delineated areas correspondingly shapedstained glass pieces. Placement of the shaped pieces within the specificareas results in the positioned stained glass pieces being supportedalong their periphery in corners or seats 34 respectively formed alongthe base rim 28 and along the upstanding walls 38 attached to the strips36.

After placement of the stained glass pieces within the base member 26,assembly 110 is completed by attachment of a cover member, generallydesignated 46, to the base member. Cover 46 is shown in FIG. 2. It alsois shown in FIG. 6 and was previously referred to in conjunction withthe description of the rim 18, strips 20, and solder deposits 24. Theattachment of the cover 46 to the base member 26 is achieved alongconfronting portions of the underside of the peripheral portion of cover46 with the upper end of the base vertical wall 30. This is moreparticularly shown in FIG. 7 in which soldering 48 is illustrated as thepreferred technique of achieving connection of the cover 46 to the basemember 26 to confine the stained glass shapes in place in theircorrespondingly shaped delineated areas. Since the cover 46 and base 26are preferably fabricated of lead, and assembly 10 includes soldering 48and mock solder deposits 24, assembly 10 has a desirable simulatedhand-crafted appearance.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in theforegoing disclosure and in some instances some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures.

What is claimed is:

1. A stained glass assembly comprising, in combination: a base having anouter L-shaped rim bounding the operative area of said assembly,glass-support strips attached about said rim in an extended positionwithin said operative area effective to delineate said area intoselected. shapes, and upstanding dividing wall means located along themedial area of said glass-support strips; stained glass in pluralselected shapes having an operative supported position in saiddelineated shaped areas on said rim and said glass-support strips; and acover having a rim and an attached interior strip pattern conforming insize and configuration to that of said base attached along confrontingportions of the rims of said base and cover over said stained glassshapes positioned Within said base, whereby said stained glass shapesare confined in place between said base and cover in correspondinglyshaped delineated areas.

2. A stained glass assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said base andsaid cover are fabricated of lead and the attachment therebetween isachieved by soldering.

3. A stained glass assembly as defined in claim 2 wherein saidupstanding dividing Wall means consists of plural, discontinuous wallportions spaced along said glasssupport strips.

4. A stained glass assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein selected wallportions are recessed along opposite sides to minimize contact thereofwith confronting edges of said stained glass shapes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 274,948 4/1883 La Farge 161-373,247,046 4/1966 Fazekas 1615 3,420,730 1/1969 Ellefson 161-38 PHILIPDIER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

